PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is played by an extremely high number of players eagerly. But where do all the enthusiastic battle royale shooter fans come from and which game is currently suffering from a massive player drop?
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a phenomenon: Every month, the battle royale shooter by former modder Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene records new milestones in concurrent players. By now, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has even surpassed Valve’s MOBA Dota 2 on Steam in terms of concurrent players.
But one question remains open: Where do all the fans of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds come from? Are these all new players or have they migrated from somewhere else?
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – PUBG wins, CS:GO loses
According to the Steam analytics site Steamspy, the answer is clear. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is the main source of new players for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds:
- 55 percent of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds players also play CS:GO.
- These CS:GO players were on average 50 percent more engaged in Counter-Strike before the release of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds compared to the majority of other CS:GO players.
- Now they are playing 30 percent less CS:GO overall because they are spending time in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
55% of PUBG owners are CS:GO players. They used to play CS:GO 50% more than an average person, now they play 30% less.
— Steam Spy (@Steam_Spy) August 28, 2017
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is also encroaching significantly on the territory of CS:GO and is attracting the most engaged players over there. According to the comments under the Steam Spy tweet on Twitter, this is mainly due to:
- The similar shooter gameplay (Once you die, you’re out)
- CS:GO hasn’t had any major updates for a long time, while there’s always something new in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is equally fun for hardcore gamers and casuals
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – Especially popular among Chinese, Americans, and Germans
Also interesting: The direct battle royale competitor H1Z1: King of the Kill had to concede players to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Additionally, the less enthusiastic players of Payday 2 and Left4Dead 2 also flocked away and landed in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. One reason for this could be PUBG’s better shooter gameplay.
Steamspy also has an answer to the origin of all these players from PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. According to Steamspy, most of them come from China, the USA, and Germany. The exciting open-world battle royale gameplay seems to fit the German ideal of deserving success after hard work.
Also interesting: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds in preview report – That’s why it’s so good!
